Somewhere Between the Lines
by SLopez
Summary: August prepares a surprise for Emma and ends up equally surprised. One-shot. Future Emma/August.


_After spending a week going to the beach, these are the results. It also fills a prompt at the swanboothkink community at LJ: "August proposes to Emma." I'm sure this isn't what you expected, but I hope you'll like it, anyway. :)_

_Sorry in advance for the fluff overload._

_The title is from the lyrics of "Good to You" by Marianas Trench feat. Kate Voegele._

_Enjoy!_

_**Disclaimer:** I own nothing._

* * *

**Somewhere Between the Lines**

She looks so peaceful, her blonde curls messy around her face, mouth slightly open and a bit of drool heading down her chin. He could spend hours staring at her – he assures himself that isn't creepy –, but he has plans for the day and she can't just sleep through it. Everything is set up and all he has to do is wake her up. That might be the most difficult task, though.

"Emma," he calls softly, tentatively, while brushing off a strand of hair from her face. "Wake up."

She grunts something and he chuckles to himself, amused.

"C'mon Emma, we've got to go." Her response is a pillow shoved at his face.

She twists her body away from him and buries her face into another pillow. "Go away."

"Henry is in trouble."

Her head shoots up quickly and she eyes him, worried. "What happened?" she asks, leaping out of the bed and grabbing the nearest pair of pants.

"He didn't finish his breakfast," August replies, a provocative smirk gracing his face.

She looks at him in disbelief, her jeans halfway up her thighs, and punches his arm, hard. "Why would you scare me like that?"

"I needed you to wake up. Plus, I didn't even lie to you."

"You're unbelievable."

She starts sliding her jeans down again, but he grabs her by the wrists, stopping her.

"The sun has barely risen, August."

"Emma, just get dressed. There are French toasts and orange juice waiting for you in the kitchen. When you're ready, meet me outside, okay? Please?"

She grunts something that seems to be "'kay", as he leans down to place his lips on hers.

He watches her grumble all the way to the bathroom. She's definitely not a morning person.

Once outside, Henry is waiting for him next to his motorcycle. He gives the kid the final instructions, while securing a box on the back of the bike. Henry listens intently and leaves, saying his goodbyes, as soon as August stops talking.

Besides the two of them, the street is deserted. The curse has been broken for three years now and things seem to have settled for the Storybrooke community. They have just defeated Regina. Belle keeps a bit of a strain to Rumplestiltskin's actions, so he isn't of much trouble now, even if he hasn't found his son quite yet.

And Emma needs a break. Between breaking the curse, spending time with her parents, helping Geppetto break his curse, falling in love with him, fighting Regina and sometimes Rumplestiltskin, being a sheriff, and, on top of that and most importantly, raising Henry, she didn't have much time off.

And that reflects on their reduced time together. They could use some and August is determined to not let any of their problems come between them today. Not even Emma herself.

"What the hell is this?" She takes him out of his thoughts and points towards the box on his motorcycle.

"It's something we'll need at the place we're going."

"And where exactly is that?"

He grins, teasingly. "I'm not going to tell you."

She shoves her hands in her pockets and assumes a defiant expression. "Then I'm not going anywhere. They need me at the station anyway."

"No, they don't. I made sure of that. Your dad has everything under control."

She glares pointedly at him. "What about Henry? I can't leave him alone."

"He's with your mother. And if he gets bored, he can always keep company to my father. You know how much the old man likes to teach him things at the workshop. And the kid likes to learn."

She frowns, annoyed. "You really think you've thought of everything, don't you?"

"I know I did."

"What's inside the box? And I'm not moving an inch, unless you tell me."

He sighs, exasperatedly. "Food."

She squints, takes two steps towards him and looks him straight in the eye.

"Are you trying to use your 'power' of knowing when someone is lying? You should have used that years ago on Sydney Glass."

"You'll never let that one go, will you?"

"Nope." He gestures towards the motorcycle, hoping she finally agrees. "Shall we go now?"

"Why can't we take my car?"

How this woman can be this stubborn, he will never understand. "Because I want to actually surprise you. Come on Emma, take a leap of faith."

She arches an eyebrow, gives him a soft smile and shrugs.

"Well, I've learned to trust you whenever you say that, so…"

...

The salty scent of the Atlantic hits them, before they can see the ocean. Her grip on his waist tightens and he knows she's surprised.

When they finally reach the beach, she hops off his motorcycle and watches the large expanse of water with amazement. Shortly after, she takes off her shoes, rolls up the legs of her jeans and approaches the sea.

Emma closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. When a wave crashes and dies by her feet, a salty breeze sprays her eyelashes, her hair and every bit of her exposed skin. It's the most beautiful thing August has ever seen.

She approaches him again. "This is some surprise."

"I was hoping for that."

The smile she gives him makes is heart flutter and it almost takes his breath away.

"So, what's really inside the box?"

"Food," he answers, feigning offense. "You should trust me more."

And with that he reveals the content of the box, showing badly handled sandwiches and a few cans of beer.

"I see you and Henry had a lot of work with those."

He smirks at her, goes through the pouches that rest on the sides of his bike, and produces a bright red bikini and a pair of shorts for her, and a pair of swimming shorts for him.

"I never thought the color red would suit you," she remarks.

"Funny," he retorts, dryly.

She smiles at him, seemingly very proud of her comment. "So, where can I change?"

He looks around and with a mischievous glint in his eye, replies, "Well, there's no one on the beach and that's nothing I haven't seen before, so…" he trails off.

"You wish. After waking me up so early this morning, there's got to be some kind of punishment for you."

There's a forest not that far from the beach and there's where she heads off to change. He's not that chaste, so he just changes right there.

A few minutes later, she joins him again at the beach, and the sight of her in that bikini knocks all the air out of his lungs and leaves him with a dry mouth.

"Like what you see, Mr. Booth?"

"Very much."

His voice is low and filled with lust and he attacks her lips with his. He really wants to have his way with her, but instead he breaks the kiss after a moment, and eyes her with a malicious expression.

"Are you ready?"

She frowns. "For what?"

"This." And he grabs her, shoves her on his shoulder, and runs towards the sea.

"If you throw me into the water, _Pinocchio_, I swear to God!"

She rarely says his real name and it's usually when she's reprehending him, and it scares the crap out of him. Not this time, though, and he throws her into the water with a loud splash. She emerges and pulls one of his legs at the same time, causing him to fall.

They play in the water like two teenagers, splashing each other, or throwing sand at each other. Sometimes he manages to grab her and kiss her senseless and then throw her again, and sometimes she manages to sneak up on him and kiss him until he's out of breath and then makes him fall again.

Even though it's unusually hot for April, the water is freezing cold, making them shiver. He puts his arms around her, trying to warm her up, even though he's just as cold.

"If I get a cold out of this, August, you're going to regret it." Her words are menacing, but her tone is playful, so he isn't worried.

"I'll take care of you."

He captures her lips, before she can respond.

...

They eat their sandwiches later that morning and Emma congratulates their effort. When he tells Henry, the kid will be really happy.

They spend the afternoon playing some more in the water, sunbathing and collecting seashells.

By the end of the afternoon, he sits down, facing the ocean, while Emma fetches a small blanket he keeps on his bike. It's getting a little bit too cold for his taste, but he chooses not to dwell too much on it.

This has been one of the happiest days of his life. However, he can't shake the feeling that something is missing. Maybe it's Henry. Maybe the kid should be enjoying this, alongside of his mother and his sort of stepfather.

She finally sits between his legs and hands him the blanket that he quickly wraps around the both of them. When they're finally set, she shifts a bit so she can kiss him lovingly. She tastes like salt, sand and sun and he could get used to this.

"Thanks for bringing me here," she whispers, returning to her initial position and resting her head against his chest.

The sun is about to set behind them and it casts an orange-y glow upon the ocean.

"Marry me." The words leave his mouth at their own will, but with ease. He hasn't planned to say them, but somehow he isn't surprised that he's said them. It just fits.

She tenses up in his embrace.

"What?" she asks in a small voice, barely above a whisper.

"Marry me," he repeats, surer this time, shifting in his place so he can face her. "I don't have a ring for you right now, but I'm happy. If you're happy, too, let's just make it official."

He's looking her in the eye, but she remains silent and a little bit bewildered, and he's getting really anxious. He realizes that this proposal changes everything, whatever her answer may be. He only prays that it isn't a negative one, or else things won't ever be the same between them, and that's far from what he wants. Maybe he can still fix the situation.

"You know I'll be good to you and to Henry…"

"You already are," she murmurs.

"I know you don't need this right now and probably don't even _want_ this, but…"

"Okay," she says, a soft smile, playing on her lips.

The most childish, boyish grin spreads onto his face and he swears his heart is ready to burst from happiness at any second.

"Okay?"

"Yes, I'll marry you," she confirms with a smile matching his own.

He cups her face, then, capturing her lips with his, his tongue brushing her lower lip, begging for an entrance that she concedes. He feels whole, complete and the happiest he's ever been.

"Thank you," he whispers, after breaking the kiss, and she just laughs at him.

They stay in that position for a couple of minutes, taking in what happened, and evaluating the changes in their lives as of now.

"Did you plan this?" she asks, curious. "Does Henry know?"

He chuckles. "No, I didn't plan this. It was a spur of the moment kind of thing. So, no, Henry doesn't know. Do you think he'll take it badly?"

Now it's her time to chuckle. "Don't be silly, August. The kid already thinks of you as a father, why would he oppose to this?"

He doesn't have an answer for her. She rests her head against his chest again and they just sit there, watching the first stars appear in the sky, as the sun continues to set behind them.

"I kind of wish we lived on the west coast," she confesses, after a while.

"Why?"

"We could watch the sun set on the ocean. It would be cool, I think."

"Aren't we feeling cheesy today, Emma Swan?"

She elbows the inside of his right thigh.

"Says the man who proposed on a beach. That has never been done before," she remarks, sarcastically.

He simply smiles. "Sunrises are equally 'cool', you know?"

"Really?" she asks, skeptically.

He looks at her in disbelief.

"Have you not seen one?" She shakes her head. "Ever?" She shakes her head again. "I'll bring you here again, some other time."

She seems to ponder the suggestion for a second.

"Nah, it's okay," she replies. "You know I'm not a morning person."


End file.
